[Welcome, gentlemen.] 】

[Here, I will be honored to introduce you to this hell that will bury us all: according to our common opinion, this world is now named the Dead Star. 】

"What a terrible name."

[It sucks, Riemann, but don't forget that this is your name.] 】

"I know, that's why I say the name sucks, as bad as the war we're in the going on right now: I don't even know how many cubs I've died in this galaxy, and I don't know why we're here now, instead of blowing up the damn world under our feet with a tornado."

[That's a good question, I'm going to mention it in a moment.] 】

Morgan habitually smiled, a tired smile, not a smile.

The meeting rooms on the Indomitable Truth are modeled after the old Knightly Fort in Caliban, and most of the public rooms here are hexagonal in shape, with iron lanterns hanging from the walls dappled and illuminating the neat checkered marble floors, while the ubiquitous alcoves and dilapidated paintings dominate the walls, their vivid postures and stiff faces, telling the clichéd heroic legends and chivalric poems.

At the twenty-sixth Terra Standard Hour (Terra) in this almost absurd war, the five Genoplasms finally reunited on the Dark Angel's flagship, marking the end of the first phase of the war: the Imperial army had completely cleansed the Void of all hostile forces, and the next step was a general assault on the final fortress.

Before that, exploration ships and reconnaissance drones at any cost had already brought intelligence about the enemy to the genetic protogens, and the rulers of the Legion were now surrounded by a slowly rotating holographic image projection of a disgusting flesh-red appearance, either silent or muttering something to them, and a number of heavily armed squire military attachés stood behind them, as if there were many new faces.

No one was seated: Johnson stood in front of his throne, Morgan directly across from him, Riemanrus and Conrad on one side, and the quiet Alfaris on the other, all listening to the Spider Queen's explanation, though they had already learned all about it in their respective reports.

[I have to say, if you say it from a purely military point of view.] The world is a perfect example of defensive warfare, and even if our brother Dorne comes, he will not be able to create a better example. 】

"You're going to make our brother angry, Morgan."

[Who?] Dorne? He's not that careful, is he? 】

"No, it's another."

The unspoken laughter echoed among the few primordials, only Johnson still maintained a face like a dead man, and the blood stained on the armor even made him look a little alive.

[Although the special texture and tight defense network on it make it impossible for our reconnaissance team to get too close, according to rough statistics, on the surface of those that have been scouted, there are as many as five digits of anti-aircraft lasers, and at most a lot of firepower of the same level, which is enough to burn all our fleets to burn out, and more batteries, pipelines and anti-aircraft fire networks are either buried deep underground, or like a hive, gathered together, not only can the orbital bombardment be useless, It would turn any reckless landing into a complete fireworks purgatory. 】

[Oh, by the way, didn't I say the Void Shield: As for the Void Shield? Hawkers, the Void Shield in this world is almost the same level as the one on the home planet of the Randan Empire, maybe weaker, but it is no different from us. 】

[And in addition to these visible means of defense, our fallen brother obviously has some terrible hole cards that we can't see for the time being: according to the results of the mechanical sage's investigation, the surface elemental composition of this dead star is extremely abnormal, it has no stable crust and those regular elements, on the contrary, the ground and a few meters below are filled with that strange biological energy: yes, it is the biological energy emitted by the enemies who are at war with us these days. 】

They are beneath the ground, and so is the whole world. 】

“……”

All the primordials fell silent, for the meaning behind these words was so terrifying: except for the Caliban, who were murderous in the true sense of the word, even Riemanrus and Conrad couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines.

"How many people did he kill......

[We don't know, Riemann, but think about it: the entire Dead Stars are almost half a hundred worlds in size, and the data shows that there has never been a shortage of colonies and alien realms with large populations. 】

[But think about it, since we entered the Dead Stars, we have passed through hundreds of worlds along the way, and have we ever seen half a living thing except for those monsters who are loyal to him?] 】

“……”

“…… That guy ......."

[Riemann, don't you want to ask me, why don't you use an extermination order on this world? 】

[In fact, Johnson and his fleet were the first vanguard to arrive near the low earth orbit of this world, and the moment they arrived, they quickly sent an excessive batch of extermination orders to this world: cyclone torpedoes, bipolar tornado torpedoes, virus bombs, and other things, everything, maybe more than twenty, for a world, it is absolutely a waste. 】

[But according to Coswayne's report, which executed this order, although all the Extermination Order weapons were fired normally, none of them reached the surface or atmosphere of this world, and they did not even fully cross the low earth orbit: the probing instruments on the battleship showed that these weapons were all missing halfway without exception, without any signs, and they disappeared very suddenly. 】

“……”

"All intercepted?"

Riemannus asked.

"Not intercepted, sir."

Standing behind Johnson, Coswayne answered Morgan's question, and all eyes in the room were focused on the Lion King's steward, and the most powerful Dark Angel warrior proudly held up his battle-blackened breastplate. With a solemn face, he told the story that shocked him: the remnants of that shock could still be seen in his pupils.

"That batch of extermination orders was issued by five warships at the same time, and all the available detection instruments on the five warships also reported the same result, that is, these weapons suddenly disappeared when they traveled to a certain range: if we had to give an example, I feel more like they were suddenly dragged into subspace by some force."

"Subspace ......"

I don't know who whispered the name first, causing several primordials to fall into silence and melancholy without exception: Johnson's face was still as gloomy as ever, while Alpharis bowed his head in contemplation in the exchange of light and shadow, making it impossible to see his face, and even Riemanrus and Conrad rarely put away their wildness, revealing a real anxiety.

After all. Their current meeting was not held in peace: in the outer fronts, and on the edge of the galaxy, thousands of Imperial warriors were bleeding and falling at every moment, and time was not on their side, and they had to solve all the problems before them as quickly as possible to find their way to victory.

These methods can be brutal and require great sacrifices, but in many cases, sacrifices are often the slightest leverage: and that is now.

"According to Coswayne's meaning, the world where this brother of ours is hiding has now been affected by an extremely profound subspace, or in other words, conventional physical strikes can no longer cause fatal damage to it."

Watching the slowly moving holographic world projection, Conrad's words were heavy and calm, and this calmness even temporarily attracted the surprised gazes of the other three primitives.

[So to speak.] 】

Morgan nodded, she used her psionic energy to conjure up a whip, and pointed to the areas of the holographic projection that she had highlighted: although the world called Dead Silence was immersed in a disgusting flesh red, its color was not constant, and every once in a while, those rotten colors of deep purple, grayish, or earthy brown would manifest themselves in an extremely irregular state somewhere in the world, as if a monochromatic ball of thread had been thrown into a variegated dye vat.

[Actually, in a world like this, I think it needs to have a name that is more in line with its essence: Demon World.] 】

"Demon World?"

Almost all of the primordials were munching on the name in a low voice, and their faces were not very good-looking: although they didn't really understand what the so-called demon world was, any normal primordial body, even a normal person, would instinctively feel jealous and cringe when they heard the word demon: after all, not everyone was Magnus, and they were lucky to be able to face the existence of a demon called a demon.

Morgan nodded.

[Yes, the Demon World, if you can't understand it, you can also call it a world in subspace: I don't know if you have received such a message, just southeast of the Hazy Star Field, not far from the Caliban system, there is a giant cosmic phenomenon called the Eye of Fear. 】

"I've heard that it's like a big chasm, and if I'm not mistaken, it was Perturabo who named it, and I once led the fleet past near that place: I have to say that the name of Perturabo is very intimate and appropriate, and it is indeed an ominous eyeball."

Riemanlus raised a hand, his golden beard rubbing the blood stains on the wolf's fur cloak, those blood were both his heirs and his enemies, in the previous battle, although the casualties of the Space Wolf Legion were far inferior to the Dark Angel or the Alpha Legion, but considering that they could only recruit troops in the world of Fenris, the Wolf King's sacrifice in this battle was not inferior to that of any of his brothers.

And one more interesting thing is that in the battle to attack an extremely large orc garbage ship, Riemanrus, who led the bloody battle, and Conrad, who wandered here, had to fight side by side for a long time, and after this battle, the relationship between the two has improved significantly, at least Riemanrus is happy to let the Nostamo stay by his side.

In the words of Riemanlus, wolves are social creatures that do not repel another savage beast, especially if the murderer is able to control himself and does not break the rules of the pack.

Johnson, of course, was noncommittal about this approval: after all, Conrad had never had a good face in front of him, and Midnight Ghost had taken it for granted that all the dark emotions had been reserved for his Caliban brothers.

[Yes, Riemann, the so-called demon world refers to those unknown planets that exist in the eye of fear, they are like pustules hovering between the real universe and subspace, the conventional laws of physics no longer exist for them, and the world in front of us is even more so, even if we use the extermination order reserves on hand, we will not be able to pose any real threat to it. 】

[Because it is not the world itself that is powerful, but the fallen man who hides in the world, we cannot crush the world until we kill that person: so I propose to shrink the outer battle lines in an orderly manner, and reduce the number of jumping gangs in fleet warfare, so as to gather enough troops to land. 】

"How to land: Look at these anti-aircraft fire, which is denser than the forest, enough to kill hundreds of drop pods, or half of the Astarte legions, in an instant, and then let the debris on the ground harvest our scarred warriors with ease."

[Rest assured, Johnson has a way: he has prepared a sturdy enough ...... Landing craft. 】

[In addition, considering that the Alpha Legion is responsible for most of the battles in the Void, this landing army can be composed of three of us, and the Alpha Legion only needs to dispatch a small number of troops......]

"There is no need for this, I still have a dozen well-preserved companies on hand, which can be put into battle at any time, and will not delay the operation of those fleets on the periphery."

Morgan's words were interrupted by a remark, and a cold smile appeared on his somewhat empty face, and even colder than that smile was the words that came out of his mouth.

"However, I also accept your proposal: the more people who carry out the landing operation, the better, after all, in this world, it is impossible for us to count on those mortal auxiliaries, they have already shown a weak posture in the Void War: I am not denigrating their combat effectiveness, their combat effectiveness and combat awareness are beyond doubt, but in the face of those erosions that occur in their minds, their performance is still far inferior to that of Astarte warriors."

Hydra only said these two paragraphs, and no one contradicted him.

Within the next half or so of Terra standard hours, the Genoplasms quickly agreed on a variety of issues, and quickly amassed an elite landing army: it was said to be elite, but in fact, how could the various legions still be able to bring out elites?

It's just a combination of those well-organized main companies and some powerful veterans to form a team that can kill in one fell swoop.

It is estimated that about 50,000 Astarte fighters will be engaged in this landing operation, and if the number is insufficient, then the peripheral operations will be curtailed, or even the rearguard units that hold the retreat will be removed.

For the soldiers of the Empire, the determination to sacrifice is never lacking, just as Johnson, who is the most silent in the whole process, has the strongest will: the Dark Angels are still the most numerous legion in this landing operation, and in Morgan's understanding, Johnson almost smashed the last trump card in his hand.

What Johnson did was like a crazy gamble, but Morgan didn't try to admonish the Caliban: she just glanced silently at Johnson, who was standing in front of the throne, after the meeting, and then turned away.

Male lions need to be quiet.

Morgan needs it too.

“……”

But apparently, someone doesn't need it.

Alfaris hurried to catch up.

His voice was like that of a snake.

"You're more determined than I thought, Morgan, and based on the intelligence and reality I know, you've really invested heavily in this operation: I can bring back the Hydra warriors on the outside of the line and swap places with your Terra veterans."

[I don't trust your ability to fight, Alpharis, what we need now is not a casualty report or a future loss report, but a present victory that is worth any sacrifice and bloodshed. 】

"It's impossible to refute."

Alfaris smiled behind Morgan, and he sighed.

The Genomorphs weave their way through the corridors of the Indomitable Truth, not even encountering many Dark Angels along the way: they've either been fighting in the bloody Void for a long time, or they're gathering on the various tarmacs and parade grounds.

"I remember that your Aurora is now in command of the center of this galaxy, not nearby: how? How about sitting on my Queen of Glory, I've been looking forward to entertaining you on my warship for a long time. ”

[Very early? Ten years ago? 】

"No, it's longer than that, maybe thirty years ago."

Alpha smiled, and when he saw Morgan turn his head and glance at him in surprise, the smile became more pronounced and flamboyant: Hydra leaned over to the Spider Queen's ear and whispered a word to her.

"To tell you the truth, you're doing a pretty good job in Li Xingxing, at least better than one of the primordials at the time: my brothers are either fantasists who don't care about the facts, or too short-sighted fools, otherwise, if they look at your abilities and attitudes squarely, they will never treat you as a mortal."

【……】

Morgan narrowed his eyes, Li Xingxing was an ancient word, so old that even the Spider Empress herself had forgotten the dead world, but Alfaris's words were like a sudden explosion of thunder on a sweltering summer night, and it suddenly woke up Morgan's memory cortex.

[Li Xingxing? 】

[You were there at the time? 】

"I'm not there: but Alfaris is there."

Hydra's eyebrows furrowed upward, and he raised his chin at the silent Midnight Ghost as if to say hello.

"Well, do you want to go and sit on my battleship, and Conrad can come with you."

【……】

[No.] 】

Morgan shook her head, her refusal didn't seem to surprise Alpha.

Have you forgotten? Brother, I'm not just the Aurora: my hard work over the past eighty Terra Standard hours has reaped the most fruitful fruit for me: the Second Legion now has a second Glorious Queen-class battleship worthy of its honor and history. 】

"The emperor may not admit it."

He doesn't care about these things. 】

“…… Truly. ”

Alpharis bowed, and as they happened to reach the hidden tarmac, Hydra only had to lift his head to see the new Glory Queen ship that was too close: it was an icy killer with black as the main color and silver for the stroke, and its firepower was even stronger than most of its brothers of the same rank.

Dozens of hours ago, the ship was one of their formidable opponents in the Void War, and now, it is prostrate under the throne of the Lord of Avalon: no one knows how Morgan did it, because when she submitted the ship, no think tank dared to listen to the raging storm that took place in the subspace, and those who were reckless were completely shattered in the first place.

One can only be sure that this is bound to be a very difficult process of training: as Morgan said, it took her a full eighty hours to get the ship to begin to listen to her orders, and not to defy her will in every way, and it will take years to wash away all the stubborn silt on its body and turn it into a treasure of the Dawnbreaker Legion.

And all this is based on the premise that the battleship has been deeply disappointed with its previous owner: otherwise, Morgan has absolutely no chance of success.

"Do you know how that man once named his Glorious Queen ship?"

[I don't care about that, Alfaris, whatever name he chooses, it's probably a little better than the name I'm going to take: I don't have the talent for it.] 】

"You can see it: I'm not sure you'll accept the original name, though."

What is it called? 】

"The Beast's Command."

"That's the name of the battleship decades before, a name that shook the galaxy: I have to admit that there is a certain crazy and contradictory aesthetic in it."

Hydra curled the corners of his lips as he carefully examined the overly close ship, like all the works of the blonde beast, the Glorious Queen-class battleship that had betrayed the Empire and was now back under the Empire's command, and it was also a highly efficient work that had been thoroughly exploited and utilized in all fields.

"It's a perfect trophy, but now that the war isn't over yet, are you so anxious to snatch the benefits of the war?"

[Originally, I wasn't in a hurry, but now with the existence of you, an outsider, I have to be anxious. 】

“……”

Conrad's contemptuous sneer was heard in the air: there was no concealment.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Alfaris grimaced, struggling to maintain his state of mind.

Morgan and Conrad, these two are really carved out of the same mold, worthy of being sisters and brothers who have been together for such a long time, and they have a tacit understanding to the extreme on the topic of disgusting and ill-intentioned Alfaris.

"However, I think you can also see that the real benefit of this war is on the dead star under our feet, but I still have to consider whether to join the next landing operation, after all, we need someone to take charge of the overall situation in the void: I remember that in the Randan Extinction War, that person was you, and this time it will still be?."

[Not necessarily, maybe I'll join the battle on the surface.] 】

"Why?"

[First of all, this war will not be as long as the Randan Extinction War, if it really lasts for a month, then what awaits us will only be the fate of the annihilation of the entire army, after all, this time, we do not have two reinforcements from the Astarte Legion. 】

[Second ......]

The Spider Empress paused, her eyes narrowed, and the third eye of psionic energy looked at the Dead Star not far away, at what the world projected in subspace.

Those things made her feel a long-lost sense of oppression, which could even be compared to the golden illusion of the Lord of Humanity, although not as powerful as the Lord of Humanity, but barely on the same level.

They all exuded the air of a god of slavery and hatred: it was true that Hedrich had abandoned the gift and offer of the god, but he probably didn't understand one thing: the reason why gods are so feared and called the plague of the world is that they are not things that can be easily changed by the subjective thoughts of the world.

Once you get involved with the gods, it's hard to get rid of them.

[I must join the battle against the ground, I must join in the crusade against that man, otherwise this landing will end in a fiasco. 】

“…… Fiasco? ”

[Yes, fiasco.] 】

[Or: annihilation.] 】

"How do you know?"

"Because I've seen it."

In the shadows, Conrad's hoarse voice uttered the only word.

(End of chapter)